1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles and, more specifically, to disposable absorbent garments such as diapers, training pants and incontinence garments which are intended to receive and contain fecal insults.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disposable absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, incontinence garments and similar items are well known to those skilled in the art. Such absorbent articles generally include a front portion, a rear portion and a crotch portion connecting the front portion to the rear portion.
Many conventional absorbent articles, and diapers in particular, are typically secured about the waist of the wearer using fasteners which can be releasably engaged together. Such articles also often include elasticized, longitudinally extending barrier flaps which encircle the upper thighs of the wearer and inhibit the leakage of bodily exudates from between the absorbent article and the legs of the wearer. Such articles have also been known to include rear backflaps which extend laterally in the rear waistband region of the absorbent article. Such backflaps can inhibit the leakage of bodily exudates from the absorbent article along the rear waist band and several different backflap configurations are known in the prior art. In small infants in particular, low viscosity fecal materials may be expelled from the absorbent article via the gluteal groove of the infant resulting in an unpleasant situation for both the wearer and the caregiver. Conventional backflaps are not always sufficient to prevent the expulsion of bodily exudates such as fecal materials along the rear portion of the absorbent article such as those which are expelled along the gluteal groove.